Talent of the Month — Lauren Mita

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Lauren Mita is a model with extensive experience in editorial, commercial, catwalk and promotional work. StarNow was recommended to her when she started out modelling, and she hasn’t looked back since! Shooting for the likes of Adidas, MTV and Pepsi, Lauren is #nailingit and we can’t wait to see where her modelling career goes next…

How long have you been on StarNow, and what prompted you to join? I’ve been with StarNow ever since I began modelling. I was young, new to modelling, and StarNow seemed like a great starting point. It had also been recommended to me.

How has StarNow helped to shape your career? StarNow has been more than just a great starting point. I have continued to use it consistently throughout my modelling career and have come across some amazing work opportunities. I have also met and had the opportunity to work with a number of great creatives.

Why do you like using StarNow over other platforms? StarNow is great value for money. I have a recurring 6 month subscription and love the fact that there are no other fees apart from this (it's 110% worth it). StarNow provides you with great advice, access to awesome opportunities, and they are more than happy to help if you have any questions. I’ve found them to be prompt & professional whenever I’ve got in touch.

What was your first modelling job, and how did you land that position? Ooooh that’s hard! I began modelling when I was only 16. I think the first thing I ever did was shoot for Dolly Magazine. I always used to read Dolly and they had a competition running where they were looking for models. I applied, and when I heard back that I was successful I felt on top of the world.

What’s the best moment of your career so far? One of my favourite moments would have to have been shooting the Rebel Sport Campaign recently. Another would have been shooting the Adidas x MTV Fit opening graphics scene for MTV. That gig was scored via StarNow which is amazing! I got some awesome video footage. These would have to be some of my best moments because I have a passion for health and fitness. Rebel Sports and Adidas are brands I’ve always looked up to.

How did you land the job with Pepsi? There was an ad listed on StarNow for a music video and I applied. A couple of days later I heard back that I had been successful. I had no idea who the client was until I received the call sheet. When I received the call sheet and found out it was a video for Pepsi, was so excited.

What was it like working for a big international brand like Pepsi? To be given the opportunity to work with them was amazing. I had to pinch myself! It was an awesome but long day (over 10 hours). All of it was totally worth it though.

Talk a bit about the work that you've done. What does a typical day on set look like? I do a lot of commercial work which consists mostly of either campaign or e-commerce work. It usually begins with a very early start. I’ve increasingly had to come to set with my hair and makeup done, especially for e-commerce work where there’s not usually a hair & makeup artist who works their magic. Depending on what I’m shooting, there could be 10-20+ different looks. Sometimes on location, sometimes in a studio. Every job is different and I suppose that’s what I love about modelling.

If you could have dinner with any model, who would it be and why? That’s a tricky one! I’d probably have to pick Adriana Lima. She’s so inspiring, a total babe and #fitspo. I love the fact that she’s fit, not just skinny. She works hard for her body and that’s something that I really look up to, especially with my passion for health and fitness.

What is one thing you wish you had known before becoming a model? Be wary. Don’t fall for scams or pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for a start-up portfolio. Do your research. Any agency will take you on regardless of whether you have photos or not. Their job is to help you build your portfolio. If anything, get a family member or friend to take some nice, natural images of you and submit those to reputable agencies.

Do you have any advice for people looking to make the most of StarNow? Ensure your profile is up to scratch with recent photographs and/or video footage, a detailed bio which lists the type of work you specialise in – as well as a list of the type of work you’ve done in the past. I actively check the site daily and apply to relevant jobs that have been listed. I’ve started getting so much more work since updating my profile and actively applying to relevant listings.

What three things have you found to be essential to succeed in this industry?

1. Punctuatlity – it always looks great if you’re early to a job and there’s nothing worse than rocking up late.

2. Flexibility – client briefs are always changing. It’s important to have a diverse range of looks and to be open to any last minute changes. I’m always super accommodating to any requests clients have, which goes a long way.

3. Confidence – this is something I’ve only recently developed. Believe in yourself or at least try and seem like you do when attending castings and auditions. How are clients or casting agencies meant to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself? Know your strengths and use these to your advantage.

Are you signed with an agent? If you are, what did you look for when finding and agent? Yes I am, however, more recently I’ve been getting a lot of my own work and have been largely freelance. Always look for a reputable agency. Check online for reviews and chat to other models about their thoughts. This is always a great starting point.

Are you working full time or part time as a model? Tell us a bit about it! I’ve always done modelling alongside something else. When I first started I was in high school. The last four years I’ve been studying at university to become a teacher, alongside working in retail and trying to fit in modelling work. Surprisingly it worked fairly well and always kept me busy. I’m looking forward to this year though. I’ve finished my Bachelor’s degree which means I’ll now have more time aside to dedicate to my modelling work. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am now. There were hundreds of “no’s” but you just need to put them aside and focus on the “yes’.”

It's no secret that modelling requires long, often unusual hours. Do you ever find yourself feeling burnt out, and if so, how do you move past it? Yes very much so, especially when I was attempting to study and work in retail three nights a week. I’d often have to attend castings during my university breaks which would leave me stressing that I’d be late to class. I’d finish work at midnight and have a call time of six or seven am the next day for a modelling job. It’s all worth it though. Especially when you land those gigs where you waited in line at a casting anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours.

Coffee. Lots of coffee always helped too.

How would you like to see your career evolve in the next five years? Ideally, I’d love to be working full time as a model/influencer within the next couple of years. My main goal is just to maintain getting regular work so this will involve regularly looking for work on platforms like StarNow and touching base with my agencies often to see how they’re going. I find this really helps because agencies have so many models on their books. I’d also love to work on my social accounts, because having a large social media following works well alongside modelling.

Maddison Baker is StarNow’s Digital Marketing Coordinator. She’s multi-talented and multi-faceted - between answering your questions on social media, writing blogs and reporting, she manages to pack a lot into her day (think lunchtime gym sessions to after-work netball games.) She always knows where the newest, coolest café is, the lyrics to Drake’s latest song, and is particularly interested in writing and people— specifically their stories.